Overview

Overview

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Summary of the work

To facilitate, develop, capture and help communicate requirements to enable the procurement of Defence as a Platform (DaaP) compliant, digital services to support future Defence Logistic capability. The team will provide technical best practices and management to establish priority and traceability of requirements, working across technical and project work streams.

Latest start date

Monday 29 January 2018

Expected contract length

until 31 March 2018

Location

South West England

Organisation the work is for

Ministry of Defence - Defence Logistics

Budget range

£50k - £250K (ex VAT). Assumed that any T&S costs are included in overall price and within agreed budget ceiling.

About the work

About the work

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Why the work is being done

This work is to be done in support of the Defence Support Network (Information Services) (DSN(IS)) sub-strategy. This sets out the ICT response to departmental and operational needs in the context of wider Government imperatives and provides a guiding view of how logistics can meet the challenges and opportunities provided by digital technologies. The Defence budget remains challenged and digitisation provides opportunities for achieving ‘more with less’. DSN(IS) will seek to transform the existing portfolio of legacy systems and applications. This will optimise the applications of today and add capabilities for the future capitalising on industrial and academic innovation.

Problem to be solved

The requirement is to:• Produce a complete set of auditable user requirements (building on extant but draft work).• Delivery of a DSN(IS) User Requirement Document (URD), utilising the MOD, enterprise-wide requirements management tool .• Delivery of ‘User Stories’ and 'Outcomes' to support an agile delivery aligned to the Government Digital Services Standard framework.These are to support the following functions: - Logistic Decision Support, Supply and Inventory Management, Asset Management, Asset Visibility, Transportation, Engineering and Maintenance. To enable procurement of the services required for an enduring Defence Logistic capability.

Who the users are and what they need to do

Defence Logistics require a provider with both experience and in-depth specialist technical, requirement management skills to produce a Defence Support Network - Information Services (DSN-IS) User Requirement Document. This will build upon an extant documentation set. The task will involve wide stakeholder engagement across the Defence Logisitc community.

Early market engagement

Data pack was published on Team Defence Information website.

Any work that’s already been done

Existing team

The Project Managers will be managed by a team within Defence Logistics. Engagements with Crown Servants, Military and Contractors is to be expected. The individuals will work to Agile/Scrum methodology.

Current phase

Discovery

Work setup

Work setup

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Address where the work will take place

MOD Abbeywood, Filton, Bristol, BS34 8JH

Working arrangements

The provider will be expected to work closely with a team within Defence Logistics and staff within the Front Line Commands (FLCs) and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation. It is anticipated that whilst some work will be conducted remotely regular contact with Defence Logistic (DL) is maintained. The contractor will base some resource with the DL (Abbey Wood) throughout the engagement. The supplier will submit weekly reports to the Service Manager regarding the status of the project, achieving key milestones and issues that may impact on timescales and cost. Significant updates required as necessary.

Security clearance

SC must be in place prior to contract commencing due to nature of projects. SC status must be valid for duration of contract. Supplier Cyber Protection Assurance Questionnaire must be completed (https://supplier-cyber-protection.service.gov.uk/) (Risk Assessment Reference RAR-TMBB9MCH)

Additional information

Additional information

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Additional terms and conditions

These MOD DEFCONs from part of the Call-Off Contract : DEFCON 76(Edn12/06) Contractors on Site; DEFCON 531(11/14) Disclosure of Information; DEFCON 659A(02/17) - Security MeasuresSuppliers must use the Authorities Payment Tool called CP&F or be prepared to sign up to the tool.

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

Skills and experience

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Essential skills and experience

Have extensive practical experience of requirements management

Have extensive experience of managing a requirements set that can be contracted against

Have experience of setting information services requirements

Have an awareness of GDS preferred format for User Stories

Have experience of working with and collaborating across Technical Work Streams to drive results

Have experience of managing stakeholder engagement in terms of requirements and setting expectations

Have excellent oral and written communication skills to engage with senior stakeholders at all levels

Have experience of using Agile methodologies to plan and deliver improvements

Have ability to think creatively and be able to articulate innovative ideas to solving complex business and IT problems

How the risk and dependencies have been identified and the approached to manage them

Team structure

Value for money

Cultural fit criteria

Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions

Have flexible approach

Have ability to integrate and work as part of a team

Payment approach

Fixed price

Assessment methods

Written proposal

Work history

Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

65%

Cultural fit

5%

Price

30%

Questions asked by suppliers

Questions asked by suppliers

Supplier question

Buyer answer

1.
Could you please review the tender delivery date of 27th December. A lot of small to medium companies are closed for Christmas from 22nd December to 2nd or 3rd January. Would the Authority consider extending the deadline to 5th January.

As the standard response time on DOS is 2 weeks from the date the requirement is published, the deadline was automatically provided by the portal and we were unable to amend it.

2.
Is there currently, or has there recently been, an incumbent working on similar tasks for the Authority?

An amount of work has been conducted over the last 24 months to broadly understand user stories in a specific area which does not directly apply here (but is loosely related).

The successful supplier should assess this existing work and incorporate it into their deliverables as appropriate to facilitate most effective use of existing investments. The existing work is not expected to cover all bases by any means.

Within the Authority, there is an officer responsible for user stories – but primarily in relation to the Defence Logistics Framework (DLF).

3.
Given that the submission has to be in by 27 Dec 2017, is the following statement by the Authority considered credible? "Your question will be published with the buyer’s answer by Tuesday 26 December 2017"

Deadlines are provided by the DOS portal and cannot be amended. Authority aims to publish responses to questions no later than 21st December.

4.
We noticed that there is no weighting criteria associated to each of the questions. Can you confirm if this is correct? Thank you

Authority can confirm that no percentage weighting have been provided, but the following can be used as a guide:Q1 - 20%Q2 - 20%Q3 - 10%Q4 - 10%Q5 - 10%Q6 - 10%Q7 - 10%Q8 - 5%Q9 - 5%

5.
One of the essential skills and experience for this task is: "Have an awareness of GDS preferred format for User Stories". Can the Authority provide an example of the GDS preferred format for User Stories? If the Authority is not able to provide the GDS preferred format for User Stories, will this not unfairly distort the competition?

7.
The Authority states that the questions will be answered by Tues 26 Dec 2017 (a Bank Holiday) for a submission due on 27 Dec 2017. Can the Authority confirm that the questions will be answered early on 26 Dec to allow suppliers sufficient time to digest the answers provided?

All questions received before the deadline (Wednesday 20th December) will be answered by 21st December.

8.
Can the Authority confirm when the Supplier Cyber Protection Assurance Questionnaire is to be completed, with the initial submission or as part of the proposal submission?

Please complete as part of your application. Successful completion of the questionnaire will be a factor in deciding which suppliers move to the next stage.

9.
Can the Authority provide a marking scheme for the proposal, including: What weighting is given to each of the proposal criteria? What weighting is given to the essential skills and experience? What weighting is given to the Work History?

Technical competence (includes skills and experience, written proposal and work history)65%Cultural fit5%Price30%

10.
Given that the proposal criteria cover how the task will be done, what information is the Authority expecting in the Work History and how will this be marked?

The work history will be evaluated using weighting criteria as published in the advert (Technical competence - 65%)

11.
Can you confirm if there is currently, or if there has recently been, an incumbent carrying out similar work for the Authority?

An amount of work has been conducted over the last 24 months to broadly understand user stories in a specific area which does not directly apply here (but is loosely related).

The successful supplier should assess this existing work and incorporate it into their deliverables as appropriate to facilitate most effective use of existing investments. The existing work is not expected to cover all bases by any means.

Within the Authority, there is an officer responsible for user stories – but primarily in relation to the Defence Logistics Framework (DLF).

12.
Ministry of Defence - Defence Logistics has published four opportunities with the same response timelines, all related to DSN(IS). The other three opportunities all list a percentage against each item in "Essential skills and experience". Is it deliberate that no such figures appear against these items for this opportunity?

Authority can confirm that no percentage weighting have been provided, but the following can be used as a guide:Q1 - 20%Q2 - 20%Q3 - 10%Q4 - 10%Q5 - 10%Q6 - 10%Q7 - 10%Q8 - 5%Q9 - 5%

13.
The link provided below for the security assessment does not work. https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/5907 Can the Authority provide an updated link?

14.
Q8 asks about the Supplier Cyber Protection Assurance Questionnaire. You state that it should be part of the application. The form does not allow for this other than as part of the 9 essential and one nice to have criteria. Therefore, how is this to be done? In addition, you have not given an indication as to the assessed cyber risk level

Whilst the form itself does not allow you to complete the Cyber assessment, it tells you the link to the website, which can then be used as described above.

15.
It is not clear where a proposal, work history or price is attached. The 'Apply' button merely takes you to the opportunity to answer the 9 essential and one nice to have criteria.

At this first stage (shortlisting suppliers) the proposal does not need to be submitted in full. The work history and written proposal will need to be submitted by shortlisted suppliers only.

16.
Is there a current Concept of Employment (CONEMP)?

No, there is not.

17.
Is there an extant Statement of User Requirement (SUR)?

No – there is no comprehensive user requirement for DSN(IS) as a whole and this work package is intended to deliver a user requirement as described.

‘Agile’ refers to an Industry-standard approach to project management. This should involve risk reduction but is a comprehensive approach. ‘Agile’ also aligns with the GDS framework.

19.
We would like to partner with another organisation and use experience from both organisations in our PQQ responses. Is this acceptable to the authority? If so, would the authority like us to identify in our responses which organisation carried out the work being referred to?

It is acceptable for the Authority if one company subcontracts another. However, the Authority cannot accept open joint bids.

20.
“Given the tight delivery timelines we may wish to partner/sub contract certain deliverables to accelerate outcomes for the DSN team. Can we assemble a partnership/subcontracts proposal post the PQQ and pre-RFP?” “To accelerate outcomes for DSN will the DSN team support and facilitate a multi supplier approach where clear benefits exist”

Multi supplier approach is acceptable to Authority, but one company must sub-contract another. Authority will only contract with one company, which will be responsible in facilitating and delivering the overall requirement.

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